Contents
- Baking ingredient prices statistics: flour and sugar retail prices
- Baking ingredient prices statistics: eggs, milk, and butter
- Baking ingredient prices statistics: recipe basket and apple pie costs
- Baking ingredient prices statistics: October 2026 CPI changes
- Baking ingredient prices: flour farm value and retail price
- Baking ingredient prices: seasonal purchases and price context
- Sources
Baking ingredient prices statistics: flour and sugar retail prices
Retail price levels make a useful starting point for a baker’s staples, provided the unit and geography remain visible. In the U.S. city average, all-purpose white flour was $0.545 per pound in September 2026 and $0.536 per pound in October. The South-region October price was $0.478 per pound. These are prices for the specified flour product, not a price for every flour type or package size.
White sugar was $1.019 per pound in the U.S. city average in September 2026 and $1.001 per pound in October. The South-region price in October was $1.049 per pound. Flour and sugar therefore show different regional relationships in these particular October observations: the South price was lower than the U.S. city average for flour, and higher for sugar. These are two geographic estimates for one month, not measures of the range among individual stores or households.
| Product and scope | September 2026 | October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose white flour, U.S. city average, per pound | $0.545 | $0.536 |
| White sugar, U.S. city average, per pound | $1.019 | $1.001 |
The U.S. city-average series provides a straightforward month-to-month comparison for these products. The South-region values add a regional point of reference for October, but the figures do not establish why prices differed. Average prices describe price levels; they should not be read as a complete account of every retail transaction or as an inflation rate. Source: BLS, Average Retail Food and Energy Prices
Baking ingredient prices statistics: eggs, milk, and butter
Eggs and milk also appear in the BLS average-price table, with their own units. Grade A large eggs cost $2.272 per dozen in the U.S. city average in September 2026 and $2.320 per dozen in October. The South-region October estimate was $2.372 per dozen. Whole fortified milk cost $4.106 per gallon in the U.S. city average in September and $4.101 in October; the South-region October figure was $3.927 per gallon.
| Product and scope | September 2026 | October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade A large eggs, U.S. city average, per dozen | $2.272 | $2.320 |
| Whole fortified milk, U.S. city average, per gallon | $4.106 | $4.101 |
The egg and milk observations illustrate why product units matter when comparing ingredients. Eggs are quoted per dozen and milk per gallon; neither figure is a recipe portion or the cost of a particular cake. The October regional estimates offer a comparison with the national city average for those same measures: eggs were $2.372 per dozen in the South, while milk was $3.927 per gallon. The data supplied here do not include an October 2026 butter average-price observation, so butter is discussed below only where a separate, cited comparison reports it. Source: BLS, Average Retail Food and Energy Prices
Baking ingredient prices statistics: recipe basket and apple pie costs
A fixed basket can show how several staple prices combine in a defined comparison. USDA’s Economic Research Service reported that a basket consisting of a 5-pound bag of flour, a 4-pound bag of sugar, a gallon of whole milk, a pound of butter, and a dozen eggs cost $16.55 during the first 10 months of 2022. The same basket cost $13.55 during the first 10 months of 2021. The comparison period is the first 10 months in each year, rather than a full calendar-year average.
ERS reported that egg prices increased the fastest among the five staples, by 60% in the 2022-versus-2021 comparison, or about $0.98 more per dozen. Flour and butter each rose by about 20%; the flour increase added about $0.40 to a bag, and the butter increase added about $0.71 per pound. Milk prices increased 16%, while sugar prices increased 13%. Together, those figures distinguish the pace of change by ingredient from the total cost of the five-item basket. Source: USDA ERS, Baking ingredient prices rose in 2022
Thanksgiving apple-pie estimates provide another defined basket. ERS estimated that homemade apple-pie ingredients cost about $8.76 in its 2022 illustration, about 19.5% more than in 2021. The estimate used the latest available average-price data, from October. Apples accounted for about half of that 2022 pie cost, reported as $4.56. Granny Smith apples averaged $1.41 per pound in October 2021 and $1.52 per pound in October 2022. Within the pie comparison, egg prices rose 90.0% and flour prices rose 34.6% from 2021 to 2022. Higher butter costs contributed an additional $0.68 to the pie’s estimated cost between those years. Serving the pie à la mode added $0.36 per scoop for ice cream in the 2022 estimate. Source: USDA ERS, Rising food costs baked into Thanksgiving pies in 2022
The next Thanksgiving illustration put the estimated ingredient cost at about $8.15 in 2023, a 7.0% decrease from 2022. ERS described the change as a $0.61 decrease in the cost of a pie between 2022 and 2023, associated with lower prices for apples, butter, and eggs. Granny Smith apples fell 7.5%, from $1.52 per pound in October 2022 to $1.41 in October 2023. In the pie-ingredient comparison, eggs decreased 38.6% and butter 6.2% from October 2022 to October 2023. Other ingredients moved upward: lemon prices increased 20.0%, and sugar prices increased 16.0%. Ice cream added $0.38 per scoop in the 2023 illustration. As in 2022, the estimate used October average prices for a Thanksgiving-period example; neither figure is a full-year average or a 2026 price. Source: USDA ERS, Lower prices for apples, butter, and eggs slice the cost of a Thanksgiving pie in 2023
Baking ingredient prices statistics: October 2026 CPI changes
The Consumer Price Index reports movement in an index, not the dollar price of a pound or gallon. In the CPI-U for the U.S. city average, seasonally adjusted changes from September to October 2026 included a 0.8% increase for flour and prepared flour mixes. Several prepared bakery categories also increased: cakes, cupcakes, and cookies rose 1.4%; cookies rose 1.5%; fresh cakes and cupcakes rose 1.7%; and fresh biscuits, rolls, and muffins rose 1.3%.
Frozen and refrigerated bakery products, pies, tarts, and turnovers moved in the opposite direction, with a 4.8% decrease over the same seasonally adjusted monthly period. These category readings describe October CPI movements, and the category labels define what each index covers. In particular, the figure for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies is not an ingredient price, while the flour and prepared flour mixes category is not identical to the BLS average price for a pound of all-purpose flour. Source: BLS, Consumer Price Index News Release, October 2026
| CPI-U category, U.S. city average | Seasonally adjusted change, September–October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Flour and prepared flour mixes | 0.8% |
| Cakes, cupcakes, and cookies | 1.4% |
| Cookies | 1.5% |
| Fresh cakes and cupcakes | 1.7% |
| Frozen and refrigerated bakery products, pies, tarts, turnovers | -4.8% |
| Fresh biscuits, rolls, muffins | 1.3% |
The distinction between index movement and average price level is essential for interpreting a mixed set of baking statistics. For example, the October flour price was $0.536 per pound in the city-average price table, while the flour-and-prepared-mixes CPI recorded a 0.8% seasonally adjusted monthly increase. The first is a dollar price estimate for a defined product and unit; the second tracks index change for a broader named category. They answer different questions and should not be combined as if they were one series. Source: BLS, CPI: Average Price Data Source: BLS, October 2026 CPI release
Baking ingredient prices: flour farm value and retail price
Flour prices also have a farm-to-retail dimension. ERS defines the farm value in this context as what wheat farmers receive for the wheat represented in a pound of all-purpose white flour sold at grocery stores. That value was 11.8 cents in 2021 and 16.3 cents in 2022, a reported increase of 37.8%. The retail price of all-purpose flour rose from 40.4 cents per pound in 2021 to 49.4 cents in 2022, a reported increase of 22.3%.
In 2024, a pound of all-purpose white flour cost 56.5 cents at retail stores, while its wheat farm value was 10.5 cents. ERS reported the flour farm share—the ratio of farm value to retail price—as 18.5% in 2024. The annual average farm share was 21% between 2015 and 2023. These measures refer to the farm value of wheat embodied in the flour, not the total cost of producing flour or the share of a recipe’s ingredient bill spent on flour. Source: USDA ERS, Retail all-purpose white flour prices loosely fluctuate with the farm value of hard red winter wheat
A separate ERS comparison emphasizes that farm shares vary across processed dairy foods: dairy farmers receive over 50% of butter’s retail price, while receiving less than 20% of ice cream’s retail price. That comparison concerns the share of retail value received by farmers for commodities used in each product. It does not say that butter accounts for over 50% of a baker’s butter cost, nor does it give the price of either product. Source: USDA ERS, Dairy farmers receive over 50 percent of butter’s retail price, less than 20 percent of ice cream’s Source: USDA ERS, Price Spreads from Farm to Consumer documentation
Baking ingredient prices: seasonal purchases and price context
The broader food-at-home context helps place ingredient and bakery readings alongside other food categories. ERS reported that average U.S. food-at-home prices were 2.3% higher in 2025 than in 2024. Within that broad setting, cereal and bakery product prices increased 1.0% in 2025, compared with a 2.8% annual average rate of growth over the previous 20 years. Dairy prices increased 0.8% in 2025, compared with a 2.1% annual average rate from 2006 through 2025.
Other 2025 figures provide context for ingredients discussed above. Average U.S. retail egg prices in 2025 were 21.9% higher than in 2024. Sugar and sweets prices increased 5.1% in 2025. These are annual category or product comparisons, not October 2026 price observations, and the broad sugar-and-sweets category should not be equated with the specific white-sugar per-pound average. Source: USDA ERS, Food Prices and Spending
Seasonal purchase timing is relevant to holiday baking because the apple-pie estimates are built around Thanksgiving and use October average prices. ERS notes that some treats have a seasonal price sweet spot, but that framing does not make an annual Thanksgiving illustration a year-round price measure. The 2022 and 2023 pie costs are comparable illustrations for their stated seasons, while the October 2026 BLS observations cover selected retail staples and the October CPI figures describe monthly index changes. Keeping those dates and definitions attached to each figure makes it possible to compare the evidence without treating unlike measures as interchangeable. Source: USDA ERS, Tasty treats often have a seasonal sweet spot Source: BLS, Average Retail Food and Energy Prices
Sources
- Average Retail Food and Energy Prices, U.S. City Average and South Region
- Retail all-purpose white flour prices loosely fluctuate with the farm value of hard red winter wheat
- Baking ingredient prices rose in 2022
- Rising food costs baked into Thanksgiving pies in 2022, no matter how you slice it
- Lower prices for apples, butter, and eggs slice the cost of a Thanksgiving pie in 2023
- Slicing into the cost of an apple pie this Thanksgiving
- Consumer Price Index News Release - October 2026
- Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials - Food Prices and Spending
- Dairy farmers receive over 50 percent of butter’s retail price, less than 20 percent of ice cream’s
- Tasty treats often have a seasonal sweet spot
- CPI: Average Price Data
- Price Spreads from Farm to Consumer - Documentation